Family Money(31)

Father and Son Lawyers Die in Plane Crash

Bruce Gibson and Daniel Gibson tragically died in a small plane crash outside of El Paso on February 23. The father and son lawyers had their own firm, Gibson & Gibson, Attorneys-at-Law. An investigation is ongoing, but local authorities believe the cause of the crash was mechanical failure.

Blake Crosby, a technician at the one-runway airport, said, “The plane took off normally and then just suddenly exploded. Never seen anything like it.”

The two attorneys were in El Paso to meet with a client, according to Lorena Myers, a secretary with the two-man law firm. “We’re all shocked and heartbroken,” Myers said. “Bruce and Daniel were such good people who will be greatly missed.”

Bruce Gibson, an avid pilot, had been practicing law for twenty-seven years in the Dallas area. Daniel Gibson graduated fifth in his class last year from SMU Dedman School of Law and chose to join his father in private practice over several offers from top law firms around the country, according to law school dean Martin Becker. “Daniel was a dedicated student with a bright future,” Becker said. “The SMU family mourns this loss.” Funeral details are still pending.

There was a photo above the news article showing my father-in-law and Bruce Gibson standing together in what must’ve been their law office at the time. Both men were wearing business suits. I recognized Bruce Gibson because Joe had a photo of his father on the shelf of his home office. But I did not know him as Bruce Gibson. I knew him as Bruce Dobson. I read the article again and had a difficult time processing it. The article said Daniel Gibson died on February 23. I again thought about the letter from Greta to Daniel. I was sure the date written on the letter was March 19 of the same year—more than three weeks after his supposed death. What did that mean?

How had my father-in-law once been Daniel Gibson and then switched to being Joe Dobson after he’d supposedly died in a plane crash along with his father? My father-in-law had told me his father had died while Joe was in his twenties. But Joe said it was a car wreck. Not a plane crash. As far as I knew, Joe did not have any other family. He said his mother, who had been estranged from her own family, had passed away from an illness when he was just a toddler. He was an only child. And his father had no brothers or sisters. So Taylor and I never traveled anywhere to see relatives on his side of the family.

But was that the truth?

What the hell was going on here?

My eyes went back to the news article and found the name of the secretary who was quoted. Lorena Myers. I typed her name into Google on my phone, searched, and found a possible candidate on Facebook. She looked to be around the age of someone who could’ve been a secretary thirty-five years ago, lived in Dallas, and was very active on social media, making several posts a day—including a post about gardening from only twelve minutes ago. I clicked the “Message” button on her page and quickly typed something out for her.

Hi, Lorena, my name is Alex Mahan. Sorry this is so random. I’m looking for information about Bruce Gibson and Daniel Gibson. I read an old news article written about their deaths where a secretary with your name was at their law firm way back when. Was that you? I think I may be related to them and was hoping you might be willing to talk to me. If so, please message me back. I’d really appreciate it!

I went back to searching the university archives but could barely focus. How could I after discovering that the man I knew as my father-in-law, mentor, and friend was actually someone else? Did Carol know anything about this? Had Joe also hidden it from her? If so, why? And did any of this have anything to do with the money Joe had invested in my company? I got a new message alert on my phone from Facebook. As I’d hoped, Lorena Myers had responded to my message right away.

Hi, Alex, I’d be happy to speak with you about Bruce and Daniel. I still have such warm memories of both of them. Please feel free to give me a call. If you’re in Dallas, I’d love to meet you.

She’d typed her phone number. I bolted from the library while dialing.





NINETEEN


I pulled up to a luxury one-story condo complex with lush landscaping surrounding multiple walking trails. Lorena Myers had told me over the phone that she’d sold her house and moved into a unit here after her husband passed away two years ago. The condo allowed her the flexibility to travel more frequently to visit her kids and grandkids, who lived in different parts of the country. Lorena was quite the talker. I hoped that might prove to be helpful. I knocked on the door to her unit, and a woman in her late sixties with a gray bob haircut wearing jeans and a red sweatshirt answered right away. A white poodle yapped away at her feet.

“Hi, Alex, come on in,” she said, leading me inside.

“I really appreciate this, Lorena. I’m only in Dallas for the day, so it means a lot that you made the time to talk to me.”

“Of course. I don’t have much going on today anyway. My gardening group got canceled this afternoon. Margie is sick again. Can I offer you some tea? I have a fresh batch of my favorite hibiscus made up.”

“Sure. That would be great.”

“Please have a seat.”

The condo had a small living room off the kitchen. I could see through the patio doors that the building backed up to what looked like a central garden area with fountains and benches. I took a seat on a flowery couch. The poodle had stopped barking but was still sniffing at my shoes. I reached down to pet the dog, and she rolled over for me to scratch her stomach. Lorena returned a few seconds later with two glasses of tea.